1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to machines for turning over and aerating the manure and/or other ingredients used in the preparation of compost required by mushroom growers for the beds in which they grow their product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,593, issued to Gordon Douglas Griffin, February 12, 1974, teaches a machine for destacking and then restacking a pile of compost, which machine comprises a wheeled frame, feed means mounted on said frame and adapted to contact a pile of compost and feed it rearwardly at a relatively low velocity, and sets of rapidly rotatable members positioned behind the feed means, each member being angled with respect to the central vertical plane of the machine such that, in use, compost fed by the feed means to the rapidly rotatable members is thrown thereby upwardly, rearwardly and towards the sides of the machine at a relatively high velocity. A machine embodying the teaching of said prior art patent suffers certain disadvantages.
The rotatable members must be rotated at such a high rate of speed that frequently the tines carried by them are broken off or knocked out of alignment when the tines pick up the compost from the feed means. Replacing or realigning the tines is not only costly but also inconvenient because of the down time required for making repairs. But most importantly, when the tines pick up the compost from the feed means, the compost is struck by the tines with such force that it may be damaged.